Tennis success is well on its way to becoming a tradition at Eisenhower.

The Eagles advanced to the finals in seven of eight flights at the Division 1 regional hosted by Romeo on Thursday and qualified for the state finals for the third year in a row.

“If you look at what these kids did this season, it’s pretty amazing,” said Eisenhower coach Kevin Donahue. “We lost some outstanding seniors, including maybe the best kid who ever played in this county (No. 1 singles champion Ed Covalschi). I don’t think many people would have said Eisenhower is going back to states or that Eisenhower is going to be one of the best teams around.

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“For us to come here today -- and you have to tip your hat to Port Huron Northern -- and for our kids to win more points than they did last year is a tribute to our team. They battled all year and I’m proud of them. Mike Evans and Adam LoCicero did a great job with leadership.”

Port Huron Northern reached the championship match in all eight flights and won seven of them to finish with 31 points. Eisenhower was second with 24 points. Dakota and Utica tied for third place with 10 points but didn’t accumulate the 18 points necessary to qualify for the state meet at the Midland Tennis Center on Oct. 18 and 19.

Nate LaBelle took over the PHN varsity program this year and the Huskies’ success never wavered.

“The success keeps the interest,” LaBelle said. “The players are always interested in trying out for the team. They know it’s successful and want to be part of it. The Port Huron Tennis House has a lot of people who takes lessons almost year round and they feed into Port Huron Northern.”

LaBelle said that the Huskies spend the whole season pointing toward the regional.

“Our goal is a lot like the Red Wings’,” he said. “Their immediate goal is the playoffs, our is the regional. There’s always good competition and we expect to do well. States will be the real test of how much our practice paid off. We came in today expecting to do well, we did well, we won all but one flight and we’re hoping to continue that success all the way to states.”

The one flight Northern didn’t win was fourth doubles, which was won by Eisenhower’s David Yoo and Johnny Leszczynski 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

“David is a first-year player who took up tennis in July,” Donahue said. “He made our four doubles team and won a regional championship. Hopefully, that’s something a lot of kids in the county will see. There are a lot of good athletes who aren’t doing anything in the fall or not getting a lot of playing time. Tennis is a sport where they can play and that’s something we’re going to sell to young kids in our area.

“If you’re an athlete and can compete, you have a chance to be successful in tennis. David is a great example of that.”

The Eagles’ Matt Donahue and Danny Scrivano lost a three-set final at second doubles; and Eisenhower’s Dan Frawley and Josh Tanghe dropped a close 6-4, 7-5 final at No.3 doubles.

Eisenhower is one of a handful of Macomb County schools with a junior varsity program in boys tennis.

“JV is huge,” Donahue said. “Kids have to play to get better. Like any sport, you can’t get better without practice. Our JV coaches, Dave Mikel and Kevin Stelter, did a great job. It helps to have good coaches in your program, it helps to have kids playing and it helps you build. Without the JV program, we wouldn’t be back here today.”

While this was a rebuilding year for the Eagles, that shouldn’t be the case next season. There are only four seniors..

“We lose some good seniors,” Donahue said. “but we have some nice young kids in the program.”

It’s the same at Port Huron Northern. No. 1 singles champion Franklin Brozovich is a sophomore and Chris Adams, who is undefeated at second singles is a freshman.

The Huskies’ No. 3 doubles team of Sam Wagner and Hunter Austin is also new to the sport.

“They’re hockey players, playing tennis for the first time,” LaBelle said. “They’re great athletes and they get each other pumped up.”

Dakota had one regional finalist, freshman David Curtis at fourth singles, and coach Mike Pearson was encouraged by the Cougars’ performance.

“I’m happy with 10 points,” Pearson said. “Seven of our 10 points came in singles and we have four strong singles players coming back.”